Food and drink · County · South Dakota
Restaurants and cafes in Brown County, SD
How Brown County, SD compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #1,045 of 2,405 scored counties
#5 of 18 scored counties in South Dakota
- Listings
- 143
- 65 chain locations (45%)
- Official establishments
- 63
- −7.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $60.8M
- On food away from home · $3,733 a household
- Spending per listing
- $425K
- 15% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 87.8
- 20% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,561
- −1.7% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Brown County
The site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Brown County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Household spending on food away from home in Brown County comes to about $60.8M a year: $3,733 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That is about $425K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 143 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Brown County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 45% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 87.8 per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 63 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Brown County in 2023, down 7.3% from 2019. That is one for every 258 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 14 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $907K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Brown County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Brown County declined 1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For restaurants and cafes, Brown County has a Groundwork market score of 53 (upper middle): #1,045 of 2,405 scored counties and #5 of 18 scored counties in South Dakota.
How Brown County compares
The same measures for South Dakota and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Brown County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 87.8 | 106.8 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $425K | $361K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 258 | 232 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −7.3% | +6.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.7% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,733 | $3,849 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $70,898 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 68 → 63−7.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,202
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $23.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 14Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14365 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 164The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $907K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Brown County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Brown County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,561−1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 16,285
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,713 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 22
- Median household income
- $70,898+21.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,772
- Median home value
- $221,100
- Jobs located here
- 19,972
- Daytime population
- 38,336Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Brown County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Brown County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardRestaurants and cafes across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in South Dakota for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with Brown County marked.
Top counties in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lincoln County, SD | 94 | 182 | 65.3 | $694K | +17.5% | #6 of 2,405 |
| 2Union County, SD | 81 | 67 | 91.7 | $471K | +3.3% | #128 of 2,405 |
| 3Meade County, SD | 75 | 99 | 82.7 | $469K | +2.7% | #249 of 2,405 |
| 4Minnehaha County, SD | 55 | 892 | 105.2 | $377K | +7.6% | #982 of 2,405 |
| 5Brown County, SD | 53 | 143 | 87.8 | $425K | −1.7% | #1,045 of 2,405 |
| 6Oglala Lakota County, SD | 51 | 19 | 65.0 | $431K | −2.3% | #1,127 of 2,405 |
| 7Beadle County, SD | 51 | 73 | 96.9 | $369K | +2.4% | #1,156 of 2,405 |
| 8Hughes County, SD | 49 | 77 | 106.2 | $374K | −0.9% | #1,237 of 2,405 |
| 9Brookings County, SD | 49 | 160 | 116.0 | $324K | +9.6% | #1,252 of 2,405 |
| 10Lake County, SD | 47 | 49 | 103.9 | $374K | −0.2% | #1,314 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Brown County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes53
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops46
- Pizza38
- Coffee shops and cafes54
- Bakeries and dessert shops63
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many restaurants and cafes are in Brown County, SD?
As of September 2026, map listings count 143 restaurants and cafes in Brown County. 65 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 63 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 7.3% from 2019. Another 14 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Brown County, SD spend on food away from home?
About $60.8M a year, or $3,733 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 143 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $425K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,285 households in Brown County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Brown County, SD compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Brown County has 87.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $425K, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Brown County would have about 164, against 143 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 258 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 7.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Brown County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Brown County at 37,561 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 16,285 households. Median household income in Brown County is $70,898, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.8%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Brown County scores 53 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #1,045 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Brown County. It maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in Brown County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Brown County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Brown County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.